Tuesday, 4 November 2014

A Bear Called Paddington

Those lovely people at the Daily__Doodle have set the challenge to draw a Paddington Bear. Now Paddington and I don't know each other too well, except that we used to live practically side by side. In Stepps village, the one next to the one I grew up in, there was a Paddington Bear in a house window, come rain or shine. In rain he would wear his wellies and coat, in sun he wore a sombrero. He was there for 26 years. People would send Paddington postcards. I don't know if Paddington is still there, but it was very nice to know he was so nearby. You can read of the thieves that stole him in 2006 here and of his triumphant return here Despite our close proximity for years, I haven't seen him for a while. Apart from a lunch together at Paddington Station (where my burrito was eyed as suspiciously as his marmalade sandwich. In the end we agreed to disagree) and a vague memory of the many other Paddington's I'd seen over the years, the real challenge of this is to create a Paddington of your very own. For me, he still looks like Paddington. I read a worded description of this little bear from Peru, unable to resist the prospect of his duffel coat (which I believe he buys later) and this is what I came up with.

These are the original sketches.

I've really grown to be fond of my pencil outlines and so the challenge in colouring the artwork is deciding how much of that outline to keep. If I was screen printing then it'd be none, which is perhaps why my finished image is a mixture. Below were my alternatives. I like to play around with images, print them out so I have a hardcopy, stick them on the wall and stare at them. I can soon pick a favourite.

Full outline

Coloured outlines

He doesn't look quite like the one who used to live next to us, but he's close enough.

These are my black and white Paddington's. The outline hasn't been tidied too much, I think it suits him to be a little bit scruffy.

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About Me

I'm a recent graduate of the MA Children's Book Illustration course at Cambridge School of Art. I'm an illustrator, picturebook maker and printer working mostly in screen print. When i'm not up to my eyeballs in ink i'm usually found unapologetically in front of an afternoon mystery drama.
Originally from Glasgow, my life in South Wales, and later Cambridgeshire, has sadly weakened my natural Scots' resolve against the cold. Now that I live in Inverness I miss that resolve. I live with my better half Jon and our impressive, yet childish, Lego collection.